A Light in the Darkness
by Sevgi
Summary: To save Gaara from their father his siblings take him and move to Konoha, hoping for safety. This is the least of Gaara's worries as he must survive a new school and learn that sometimes the only way to be free of your darkness is to trust in your friends
1. The Move

A/N: Hey

**A/N: Hey! Alright this is my first story on fanfiction so hopefully it will be a good one. I really hope everyone likes it, please tell me what you think! Input would be very much appreciated! Thank you!**

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Shady…that was the only word he could think of to describe his new neighborhood. From the minute his brother Kankuro's rusty old pickup truck had turned onto Autumn Drive the demeanor had completely changed. Houses had become smaller and shabbier, the trees scraggly, drooping sadly towards the road, numerous vehicles with broken windows and slashed tires lined the gutters while broken beer bottles and scraps of glass littered the road and sidewalk.

Gaara stared at it all, his face a blank sheet as he took in his new surroundings. This was the place where he would be living for the two remaining years of his high school career…this garbage dump. The boy barely batted an eye as his older brother pulled up to one of the shabbiest looking houses of the lot and parked the truck in its driveway, turning off the engine and pulling the keys from the ignition.

"Home sweet home," he said, trying his best to sound cheerful.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Gaara's older sister Temari asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow skeptically at the rundown house before them. Kankuro fished a sheet of paper from his pocket, smoothing it out and scanning his eyes over the contents.

"2914 Autumn Drive…yeah, this is it," he answered, nodding towards four address numbers attached to the side of the house, the paint so faded and peeling it was almost impossible to read them. Temari sighed before smiling at her two younger brothers, trying and failing to look reassuring.

"Well, let's start unpacking then," she told them. Gaara opened the door of the pick up and stepped out, turning to help Kankuro lift their heavy suitcases from the back of the vehicle. The siblings had few belongings with them as they had left very suddenly after the incident, not having time to pack everything they might have wanted to. All they had was three separate suitcases full of their clothing, a couple of portable electronics that would be of use around the house, and a decent amount of money that would hopefully get them by until Kankuro and Temari were able to find jobs. Gaara would be too busy focusing on his schoolwork to work full time. Even so he was determined to find a part time job somewhere so he could help his older siblings pay the bills. After all, it was his fault they were in this situation in the first place.

It had taken them awhile to get to Konoha City from the smaller town of Sunagakure, about a day and a half to be exact. Gaara's legs were cramped up from the drive and he was glad to be able to stand after sitting in the car for so long. His older brother wasn't exactly the smoothest of drivers. He would start school tomorrow, his siblings refusing to let him stay and help them get situated. Temari had insisted he start on the first day like everyone else so he would blend in more. Gaara had merely stared at her, knowing the chances of him blending in was like a giraffe's trying to blend in with a pack of mountain lions. Even though it was the start of a new year these students had most likely been going to school together since they were little and he was bound to stick out like a sore thumb. His appearance alone was hard to miss. With his alabaster skin, pale green eyes with their telltale rings of insomnia, skinny limbs, and crimson hair, he was bound to attract attention.

"Hey Gaara, want to give me a hand with this?" The sixteen year old glanced up to see his sister struggling to juggle two boxes of electronics and get the front door open all at once. Picking up his pace he grabbed the door and opened it for her, the strong sent of mildew and mothballs following this act. The house looked just as bad inside as it did out.

The carpet at one time must have been white but now was yellowing with age and lack of attention, the walls were peeling, the ceiling had obvious signs of mold and water spots, half the windows were cracked and the ones that weren't were broken. Mouse droppings could be seen scattered haphazardly around the living room while dust covered the surface of absolutely everything.

"Well, this is nice," Kankuro remarked having come in behind Temari and Gaara before pausing to look around.

"Shut up Kankuro, it's all we can afford right now," Temari snapped, setting her boxes down with an irritated thump and causing a cloud of dust to rise up and engulf them. The blonde sneezed three times in a row before the dust dispersed, leaving behind traces in their hair and clothing. Sighing she turned to head back out, not wanting her brothers to see the dispirited expression she couldn't seem to shake.

"Well for now, let's just get everything moved in…"

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The moving process took little over an hour as they really didn't have that much to move in. Temari had immediately gotten down to business, wiping off the counters, throwing out the mouse droppings, and trying to remove as much dust as she could while Kankuro set up the electronics and put duct tape over the holes in the windows. As they did this Gaara grabbed his suitcase and lugged it up a set of rickety wooden stairs to the small room at the top that must have been the attic.

It was small and stuffy; the floor was wooden as well as the walls and a single fan hung crookedly from the ceiling. Spiders inhabited every corner of the tiny room and he made a point to squish a few as he set his suitcase down. The best part about it was the window that was placed on the far side of the wall, miraculously still completely intact. It opened up onto the roof and gave a clear view of the sun descending towards the west. It was this window that had caused Gaara to pick the small attic for his own.

Kneeling down he unzipped his suitcase and let it fall open, disrupting the neatness of the clothes he had folded inside. There was a wooden wardrobe shoved up against the right wall that was bound to be a spider's paradise but would serve as a decent closet once he cleaned it out. For now though he shoved his clothes aside and dug downward until he found the item he'd been searching for. It was a picture of a woman with short sandy blonde hair and sparkling eyes, smiling warmly at whomever it was taking the picture.

"We made it…mother," Gaara murmured, carefully taking the photo out and gently setting it on the floor. "It's not as nice as fa-…as _his_ house, but it will serve our purposes." With that he turned away from the photograph and pulled a dark red sleeping bag from the depths of his suitcase, laying it on the floor beside the picture. Once this was done he dropped his pillow on top of it and stood back to observe his work. The siblings didn't have room in Kankuro's pick up to bring beds with them so they would have to make do with sleeping bags for the time being. Beds would be purchased eventually but for now they were on the floor.

Gaara sneezed as a small bit of dust found its way to his nose, blowing up even more of the stuff in the process. Growling in frustration he stood and made his way over to the window, placing his hand on the lock and trying to shove it open. This proved to be much easier said than done as it was obvious the window hadn't been opened in a long time and was quite content to stay closed. With a grunt of effort Gaara wrenched the lock to the side and threw the window open, letting the evening breeze swoop in and chase the musty air from the attic.

He was dreading tomorrow, the sun only making things worse as it seemed to sink faster than ever towards the other end of the sky. He had had no friends in Suna; it wasn't strange to think that the same thing was bound to happen here. He would be alone again with no one to depend on except Temari and Kankuro who had already done so much for him. It was those two who had protected him from his father in his drunken rage, them who had left behind everything in order to take him somewhere safe.

Safe… Gaara couldn't help but find it ironic that this dilapidated old house could be considered safe; but anywhere was better than the hell hole he had lived in with his father and Yashamaru…Yashamaru. Gaara's heart clenched and he gripped his head, trying to erase the memory from his mind. But as always it was there, clear as a bell. He couldn't believe that man had…after everything he had done for him…he had gone and…_that bastard. _Gaara grit his teeth and did his best to shove those thoughts from his mind but no matter what he did, he knew they would come back later in the dead of night, when he was alone, as sleep alluded him for the millionth time. What little dreams he did have were haunted by his father and Yashamaru, by his mother's face, by the people he'd…

"AAAAUGH!" Gaara screamed and grabbed his head, dropping to the ground with a loud thud. Why did these thoughts have to keep coming back? Why couldn't they just leave him alone!?

He barely heard the running footsteps of his brother and sister as they dashed up the stairs and threw the door to his room open.

"Gaara!" Temari cried, rushing towards her fallen brother, Kankuro on her heels.

"Make them go away…make them stop," Gaara whispered, his eyes wide with fear, his face pale, limbs trembling. Temari wrapped her arms around the boy and held him close while Kankuro kneeled beside him, his hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"Shh its okay, we're right here. No one is going to hurt you, we promise," Temari whispered, stroking the boy's hair and holding him closer than ever. Slowly Gaara's trembling stopped and he was able to calm down, his hands falling to his sides in utter defeat.

"Temari, you can let go of me," he murmured, shying away from her touch. The girl immediately did so, leaning back in order to give him his space. "I need to be alone for awhile," he continued, standing and heading towards the window. Temari and Kankuro exchanged a look before nodding.

"Alright," Kankuro responded.

"Let us know if you need anything," Temari added, before the two siblings turned and walked down the stairs. As soon as she knew Gaara was out of earshot Temari turned to Kankuro, her face full of concern.

"That hasn't happened in a long time, where Gaara completely loses control of his emotions like that," she murmured, wringing her hands nervously. Kankuro sighed, running his fingers through his spiky brown hair.

"It has to be because of that bastard and what he did to him. That's why we had to leave Temari, you know he would have killed Gaara," he responded. Temari sighed.

"I know…I just hope that, well, that coming here won't make things worse for him. He had no one in Suna except for us, he felt so betrayed after what Yashamaru did to him… I don't want him to feel like that, I want him to trust people again. I don't want him to feel like he's alone," she said. Kankuro shoved his hands in his pockets, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

"He's not alone, he has us," he answered. The corners of Temari's lips rose in a slight smile before she shook her head.

"I know that, and I think Gaara does too…but he needs a friend, Kankuro. We can't be there for him at school and with the hours we're planning on working we wont be here for him at home much either. He needs someone who understands him, someone who won't treat him like a freak," she told him. Kankuro sighed, his words revealing the defeat he felt.

"Do you really think people like that exist? Someone who will truly accept Gaara for everything he is, for everything he's done?" he asked. Temari sighed and turned away, kicking a box to the side as she did so. She had no answer to that question but she could only hope for Gaara's sake, that there was someone like that out there somewhere.

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**Okay so how did everyone like it?? I really hope it came out alright. The part with Gaara losing it was kinda hard to write because I'm sorta trying to mix in Gaara's actual Naruto past with this story…except he can't fight back with super killer sand…Anyway I hope everyone was in character. It's hard to make Kankuro have a deep conversation. Haha anyway please review! Thanks so much!  
**

**Sevgi**


	2. The First Day

A/N:

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!! It helps me so much as far as inspiration goes! You all are amazing. There will be pairings (ish) in this story but I'll work them out later. :P Oh yeah in this story Gaara's tattoo is a scar left there for a reason that will be revealed later :D**

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Gaara stared at the building looming forebodingly in front of him, already cursing himself for stepping out of the pick up truck and watching Kankuro drive away. He should have just stayed in the damn car and avoided this hell known as high school. The building was red brick with disgustingly cheerful looking flowers planted in the front, blossoming trees, and a huge leaf symbol stamped over the doorway.

It was through this doorway that all the students were streaming, talking loudly as they caught up with their friends, complained about the start of the year, and discussed what teachers they had for their various classes. Gaara was deaf to it all, still standing at the curb and staring straight ahead, unable to get his feet to carry him forward.

The screech of tires snapped him back to reality as a car pulled up to the curb only about five feet from where he was standing. A pink haired girl jumped out of the front seat and yanked her backpack from the inside of the car before staring at the person in the back and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Let's go Naruto! What's taking so long?" she complained, glaring at whoever this Naruto was. No sooner had she spoken when the back door flew open and a blonde haired boy stumbled out, grinning sheepishly at the expression on the girl's face.

"Sorry Sakura. Guess I kinda fell asleep back there," he told her apologetically. The girl, Sakura, sighed and adjusted the pink straps of her backpack before turning on her heel and starting to march towards the school.

"Well whatever lets just get going. I don't want to be late on the first day," she called behind her. The blonde took two steps forward before he seemed to feel Gaara's eyes on him and slowly turned, blue eyes meeting light green ones. His expression furrowed in confusion and he seemed about to say something before Sakura shouted at him again.

"MOVE IT NARUTO!" The boy jumped and hurried after her, shooting one last look at Gaara before disappearing inside the building. The front lawn was almost deserted now as almost all the students had rushed off to class. Gaara had lost count of how long he'd stood there and the only thing that got him moving was the fact that if he was late, he'd have to walk into the classroom by himself and draw even more unwanted attention.

Stepping into the school building he was immediately met with the smell of bleach, pencil shavings, and dirty socks. Glancing around for the cause he saw that the boy's locker room was only a couple of doors down the hall and the gym itself was right across from it.

Only a few stragglers remained in the halls, friends catching up on last minute conversations and couples taking twenty minutes just to say good bye. Not exactly sure where he was supposed to be going Gaara pulled his crumpled schedule from his pocket and glanced at it, noting that his first class was English. Now all he had to do was find the classroom…

Right at that moment the bell rang and the few stragglers scampered into their classrooms, leaving him alone in the hallway. Now he was late… this was turning out to be as good a day as he had thought it'd be. The room number next to his English class said 824 and, glancing up at the nearest room number reading 612, he knew he was nowhere close. To make the situation better, he had no idea where to go. This place was like a maze, seeming to stretch on forever with random hallways branching off every which way. Maybe if he just started walking and followed the numbers as they got larger he would eventually locate the place he was supposed to be.

He began moving forward, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls, the white lights bearing down on him. He felt like he was in some kind of psych ward. Everything was so close together, the walls seemed to lean in menacingly towards him, the lockers were shabby and obviously very old and bleak white was clearly the dominant color. The walls were white, the ceiling was white, the floor was white, the lockers were gray…it was almost like someone had taken a hose and just washed all the color away from the place, trying to make it as boring as possible.

617…619…621…623… He was moving along at a snails pace and if, by some miracle, he did manage to locate his room, the class would already be half over. Maybe it would be better if he just skipped this whole day, turned around, and went home.

"Hey you, get to class!" Gaara jerked to a halt and whirled around to see who had yelled at him. It was a woman, tall with long blonde hair and a body that would make the prettiest fashion model jealous. Her eyes were narrowed and she had her hands on her hips, her mouth curved down in a blatant frown. "First day of school and you're already late eh? How long have you been going to this school now?" she snapped. The comment was clearly meant to be sarcastic but Gaara decided to answer it seriously.

"…About five minutes now," he murmured. The woman's eyes narrowed even further.

"Well aren't you a smart-alecky one. Maybe if I took you to my office you wouldn't be so cheeky," she replied. Gaara sighed and stared down at the schedule he was gripping in his hand.

"I just moved here from Suna, I don't know where my classes are," he responded evenly. The woman opened her mouth to yell at him some more before her words hit him.

"From Suna…oh! You must be Gaara!" Immediately her scowl was gone, replaced by a look of understanding. "That makes a little more sense. I was wondering why you didn't look familiar. I'm Tsunade, the school principal," she told him, a slight smile on her face. Gaara nodded to her, not exactly sure how he was supposed to respond to her sudden change in attitude.

"Let me see your schedule," she told him. Mutely Gaara handed it over, watching as she scanned her eyes down the list of classes he would be taking.

"English with Kakashi eh? You don't have to worry about being late then, he generally is himself," she muttured the last part under her breath but Gaara caught it anyway. "You're going to want to take your next right, go up the stairs on the left, and it should be three doors down on the right. The 800's are always on the second floor," she told him, handing him back the schedule. "You've already been registered so all you need to worry about is getting through the day. Good luck kid, you'll need it," she told him before turning and walking away, her heels clicking loudly against the tile.

Gaara blinked, staring after her retreating back before looking down at his schedule again and forcing his feet to move in the direction she'd pointed, taking a right down the next hallway. The stairs were a ways down but eventually he found them and headed up, his feet dragging sluggishly onward. Once at the top he moved forward, glancing at the room numbers as he did so.

820…822… There it was. Gaara stared up at the closed door, hearing the soft murmur of a male voice from within and seeing the vague outline of students through the translucent window. All he had to do was reach out, turn the knob, and walk in. He had gone through much worse than this so why was it so damn hard to move? Right at that moment he saw the shadowy blur of a hand being raised and an obnoxious voice cutting of the first one.

"Kakashi Sensei, I have to use the pot, can I leave?" There was a moment of silence before giggles burst out from the rest of the students and an amused murmur of assent from the man who had to be Kakashi. The sound of someone getting up and running towards him followed this action and suddenly the door was being thrown open and a body with a shock of blonde hair crashed head on into him.

The next thing Gaara knew he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, watching a surprised blonde head coming in and out of focus.

"Oh man, I didn't know there was anyone there! I'm sorry buddy, you okay?" Gaara ignored the voice, sitting up and rubbing his head where it had made contact with the floor. A crowd of students were now standing in the doorway and staring at him, their eyes wide in surprise. Gaara brushed a strand of hair out of his eye as he stood up; his fingers momentarily skimming over the scar above his left eye and making him yank his hand back down. The blonde boy stood up next to him and it was only then that Gaara recognized him as the kid he had seen get out of the car that morning with the other girl.

"Alright clear the way, coming through." The crowd of students parted to make way for the man who clearly had to be Kakashi Sensei, come to see what in the world had happened. The teacher was tall and fit looking with wild gray hair that stuck out in all directions though the thing that really caught Gaara's attention was the way his right eye was covered up by a patch. The man's good eye rested on Naruto before he sighed and shook his head.

"Can't you manage to stay out of trouble for one minute Naruto?" he asked hopelessly. Naruto shook his head.

"No, no, no! Forget about me, what about him? Is he okay?" As he said 'him' he pointed his finger in Gaara's face, centimeters from the tip of his nose. Gaara stepped back wanting nothing more than to turn and get the hell out of here. He was drawing more attention than he had ever wanted to and this blonde idiot was only making things worse.

"Right," Kakashi responded. Looking at Gaara he frowned slightly before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "You must be Gaara, the new student right?" he inquired. The boy nodded, wishing Naruto would lower his finger already. "We were expecting you but first things first. Are you alright? That was a nasty fall you had there," he asked him, slight concern in his onyx eye.

"I'm fine," Gaara replied shortly, wanting to get out of this situation as fast as possible.

"It might be a good idea to visit the nurse, just in case," Kakashi continued but Gaara set his jaw and gave a slight shake of his head.

"I'm fine," he repeated, keeping his voice low and monotone. He didn't want the mounting irritation he was feeling to be detectable by his new teacher. Kakashi gave him a piercing look before shaking his head and hiding a tiny smile.

"Well in that case we might as well get back to class. Come on everyone, back in the room." The students turned and filed back inside, Gaara staying near the rear of the group trying to avoid the many stares he was receiving.

"Uh hey…Gaara was it?" Upon hearing the voice the redhead turned to see Naruto grinning apologetically at him while sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry; I really didn't mean to knock you over like that. I-…"

"Don't worry about it," Gaara cut him off before turning his back and heading into the classroom, leaving the blonde in the hall. He pointedly ignored the looks he was receiving as he made his way towards a desk in the back corner of the room, close to one of the open windows so he could feel the breeze on his face.

"Ah Gaara, just a moment." The redhead looked up as he heard Kakashi call out to him, wondering what it could be now. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class? You don't have to come up to the front if you don't feel comfortable, just tell us a little bit about yourself." It should have been a simple request but for Gaara is was along the same lines as being asked the formula for life. There was not much about himself that he was willing to share with these strangers yet he knew he had to say something…or make something up.

"My name is Gaara, I'm from a small village far away from here, and I have two older siblings," he replied quietly, not sure what else to say.

"Any interests? Dislikes?" Kakashi prodded. Gaara scowled.

"I dislike being put on the spot," he muttered, just loud enough for the gray haired man to hear. A couple of snickers broke out amongst the students before Gaara turned his back on his sensei and took his seat. Fortunately Kakashi didn't question him further and instead turned back to the papers on his desk.

"For today the spots you are sitting in are fine but tomorrow, for my benefit, I will have made a seating chart where you will stay until I say differently. It will be completely random, chosen by the fate my computer has decided for you. Now however, I would like everyone to say their names so our new student can get an idea of what to call you," he told them.

"Oh man a name game? Seriously? We haven't done that since the fifth grade!" A boy sneered, his tousled brown hair falling into his black eyes, sharp canine teeth visible when he opened his mouth.

"Thank you for volunteering to go first Kiba," Kakashi responded with a smile. The boy blanched before sliding down in his desk, trying to avoid the amused grins of his classmates.

"My name's Kiba Inuzuka and I really don't care whether you remember it or not," he snapped. Gaara let his gaze slowly slide to the boy who was clearly trying to appear cool and unconcerned though his face was tinged slightly red. Kakashi smiled weakly.

"Okay, next…" Gaara barely paid attention as the rest of the class introduced themselves, some seeming generally interested in getting to know him while others were like Kiba and found the whole thing stupid. Either way Gaara was about ready to jump out the window by the time it was over and he was only five minutes into his first period of the day. As Kakashi began droning on about the goals of that year he stared out the window wondering just how much more of this he would be able to take.

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**So the next chapter will contain more of Gaara's first day of school, hints of his 'mysterious past' (sorry couldn't resist) and Temari going job hunting. Wonder where she'll end up…hehe. Alright yeah anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. More later.**

**Sevgi**


	3. New Job

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm on a bit of a writing streak right now so I'm updating again. Hope you're all cool with that. Enjoy this chapter too!! Yeeah this will be a Shikamaru/Temari story, hope you're all cool with that… Oh yeah, anyone know what Shikamaru's mom's name is. I saw the one I used on some website but dunno if it's accurate. Please let me know if it is different. Thank you!! **

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Temari stared hesitantly up at the small street side café, her eyes sliding from the door to the large white sign that said: **Now Hiring**. The place was called 'Nara's', quite a simple name, written in fancy cursive writing and hanging above the door. She had been asking around town for possible places to work and a lot of people had said: "Oh yeah, Shikaku's hiring. Go check his place out, he's a good guy." So here she was, standing in front of this man's little café and wondering what she was about to get herself into. But if Gaara could survive his first day at Konoha High, she should be able to do something as simple as this.

Taking a deep breath she stepped forward and opened the door, a tiny bell jangling above her head as she did so. The first thing she noticed was how wonderful the place smelled, a mix of coffee and freshly baked bread. The booths were red, smooth wooden tables placed between each one. The floor was made of shiny white and black tile that was checkered across the length of the café like a chess board. A counter was set up in the back with bar stools placed along it, a pile of napkins in the center and a bell to ring for service.

Temari made her way forward, glancing around nervously. Plenty of sunlight was streaming in from the large windows lining the walls but the place was currently deserted. This wasn't surprising as it was a workday, the time currently between breakfast and lunch. Not many people made café stops at this time of day. She had noticed outside that there was a second story built on top of the small restaurant and she figured that the family who owned it must live up there. It seemed small but cozy and she felt comfortable right away.

"Hello ma'am, how may I help you?" Surprised Temari turned back towards the counter and saw a man with a brown ponytail, a firm build, and a scarred face looking at her from behind the counter, a pleasant smile on his face despite his slightly intimidating appearance.

"Oh, um, hi," Temari mumbled, attempting to rapidly pull herself together. "My name is Temari, I just moved here with my brothers from Suna and I was wondering if you could maybe hire me." She said this all rather fast, stumbling a bit over her words as they rushed to escape her mouth. The man laughed causing Temari to scowl defensively.

"There's no need to be nervous. Why don't you come on back and I'll ask you a couple of questions," he said to her. Temari blinked.

"Wait, so I have an interview already?" she asked. The man shrugged.

"Why not? I need a few more workers around here and you seem like a nice enough young lady," he responded. "Name's Shikaku by the way, Shikaku Nara." Temari nodded and shook his outstretched hand, his palm feeling rough and calloused against her own soft one. The girl followed him behind the counter and into a back room marked employees only. This was clearly the kitchen area as it had a stove, a large refrigerator, a big sink, and clean plates piled up in a neat stack at the edge of the counter. A set of wooden steps disappeared up to the second floor and Temari could faintly hear the sounds of someone moving around up there.

"Take a seat," Shikaku said to her, indicating a small white table with two chairs pulled up on either side. Temari sat and tried not to fidget, clamping her hands tightly in her lap. "Ever had a job before?" he asked, leaning back heavily in his chair and fixing her with a lazy gaze.

"Yeah. In Suna I worked as a bartender in our village's only bar. It didn't have the best wages but I got by. Suna is such a small town, that was really the only job available," she told him honestly, hoping the fact that she'd worked in a bar didn't dissuade him from hiring her. Instead he merely nodded and moved onto the next question.

"How would you describe yourself personally, feel free to brag," he added with a smile.

"Um, well I…" Temari tried to think of something to say, completely unaware that her youngest brother was going through the exact same thing at the moment. "I guess I'm responsible because I always have to look out for my two younger brothers. I'm really stubborn but I can work on that and I have a bit of a temper, but not too terrible. I'm pretty good at keeping it under control…" she trailed off as Shikaku waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Alright that's good enough. You said you take care of your two brothers? What about your parents, they around?" he inquired drowsily. Temari frowned, a brief image of her deceased mother and alcoholic father passing through her head as she responded:

"They're dead, both of them." Shikaku frowned and sat up a little straighter in his chair. "That's why I need this job so I can pay the bills to help support Kankuro and Gaara. They're all the family I have left now," she answered.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," the man said, propping his elbows up on the table and leaning forward. "I'm going to go ahead and offer you a job here, you seem like a decent young lady and if this will help out your situation at home I'm happy to hire you," he said with a smile. Temari stared at him before her face broke into a large grin.

"R-really?! Thank you! Thank you so much! When do I start?" she inquired. Shikaku frowned and rubbed his chin in concentration.

"Is tomorrow alright with you? I assume you'll be working full time?" he asked. She nodded.

"If I can that would be ideal," she answered. Shikaku nodded.

"Then let's say you start tomorrow. Show up at 7:30 and my wife will show you the ropes around here. She can be a bit scary at times but is nice deep down…very deep down. Ahem, anyway there are a couple other kids who work here but they're all still in high school and part timers, you'll be meeting them eventually. Oh yeah and my son Shikamaru works here as well. You'll probably see him tomorrow when he leaves for school, he'll probably wake up late as usual, laziest boy you will ever meet. Oh well, I digress, probably gets it from his father…" Temari giggled at the expression on the man's face, liking her new employer already.

Shikaku stood and poked his head up the stairs.

"Hey honey, come meet the new employee I just hired!" he called. Temari stood up and pulled on her skirt, trying to look her best for the woman making her way down the stairs. She was very pretty, tall with long brown hair pulled into a low ponytail at her back. Her eyes were sharp yet had a kind edge to them, her mouth set in a firm line. She studied Temari with piercing eyes and the girl couldn't help but feel like she was being x-rayed. Then, all at once, her face broke into a smile and she extended her hand to the blonde haired girl.

"It is very nice to meet you. My name is Yoshino and I look forward to working with you. We'll probably be spending a lot of time together so we might as well start off on good terms," she said. Temari nodded and smiled back.

"I'm Temari, it's nice to meet you as well," she responded. Yoshino nodded before releasing her hand and turning to Shikaku.

"I have some errands I need to run when Shikamaru gets home from school tomorrow so he will have to help her out until I get back," she said to her husband. The man snorted, an amused smirk playing across his face.

"Yeah, sure he will. If that boy can work up the motivation…" he answered. Temari expected Yoshino to disagree with her husband but she only sighed and rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers.

"Sometimes I just don't know what to do with that boy…" Shaking her head she turned back to Temari. "Well we'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow, take care now," she said as Temari headed for the door. The blonde nodded and waved before exiting the café, the bell ringing its good bye behind her.

Fortunately for her Autumn Drive was only about seven blocks away from Nara's and so she could walk it and not have to worry about Kankuro coming late to pick her up. With an extra spring in her step she headed towards her house, anxious for her brothers to come home so she could tell them about her success.

………………

BRRRRRRRRINNNNNGGG!! The high school's bell rang loudly announcing the end of first period and the beginning of the five minutes passing time the students had to get to their next class. Kakashi waved good bye to his students before pulling an orange book from one of his drawers and burying his nose in it.

Gaara pushed his chair back underneath his desk before leaning down to grab his bag and straightening up, only to see the blonde haired kid from that morning standing beside him, a large grin on his dopey face.

"Hey Gaara, what class do you have next?" he asked, pulling out his own schedule as he did so and scanning his eyes over it. The red head hid a sigh of exasperation at this kid's refusal to leave him alone, this being the seventeenth time he had tried to get his attention that period.

"History," he growled in response before walking past him and heading towards the door. Naruto however, was not that easy to get rid of.

"Oh too bad, I have Chemistry with that old stiff Ibiki. I think you're in Sakura's class though, she can show you where it is," he told him. Gaara looked at Naruto about to say he didn't need the help when it struck him that he really didn't have any idea where anything was in this school and he'd rather avoid the access attention being late caused this time around. "Here she comes now. Oh Sasuke's with her, awesome!" Gaara glanced in the direction Naruto was now ecstatically waving to see two other kids walking towards them, one the girl from that morning, the other a tall raven haired boy with a dark complexion, wearing a navy blue tee-shirt and a scowl.

"Sakura, Sasuke! Hey guys, how was first period?" Naruto asked loudly when they'd arrived. Sakura scowled.

"Horrible. That Ino-Pig is in my advanced algebra class and was gossiping about that stupid cruise she went on all period long, flaunting about how rich her stupid family is. I can never get her to shut up!" she snapped, crossing her arms in front of her. The raven haired boy, Sasuke, only shrugged.

"It was no big deal," he replied bluntly. Naruto frowned at him before suddenly seeming to remember Gaara who was standing reluctantly beside him.

"Oh yeah, guys this is Gaara. He just moved here from… somewhere. Anyway, Sakura I think he's in your history class with Kurenai Sensei and it'd be cool if you could show him where to go," he said to her. Sakura glanced from Naruto to Gaara, her green eyes meeting his own. She smiled and held out her hand.

"Yeah sure no problem. To formally introduce myself, I'm Sakura Haruno. It's really nice to meet you…Gaara was it?" she asked. He nodded but refused her outstretched hand, instead turning to look at the Sasuke kid who was staring at him with narrowed eyes. There was a challenge in his gaze that Gaara didn't like; a kind of attitude that made the red head immediately dislike the guy. For some reason he screamed trouble. Naruto glanced between the two, missing the growing tension beginning to form overhead like a storm cloud.

"Aren't you gonna introduce yourself Sasuke?" he asked. Sasuke's gaze flicked to Naruto for a moment before returning to Gaara.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he muttered, finally glancing away to look at the clock. "We should get going, the bell's gonna ring soon." Naruto nodded.

"Alright well Sasuke and I are headed this way. See you guys later!" he called before turning and taking a few steps down the hall. Sasuke looked at Gaara one more time before heading after the blonde and disappearing into the crowd of students. Sakura stared at him a moment before timidly speaking up.

"Um, history is this way if you want to follow me," she said. Gaara looked over at her before nodding and following the pink haired girl down the hall.

…

History passed rapidly. His teacher Kurenai didn't make him introduce himself in this class which he was grateful for. Once again he took a seat near the back and Sakura sat herself beside him, probably feeling like she was doing a good thing by doing so. A dark haired girl sat down on Sakura's other side with pale eyes and flushed cheeks. She kept her eyes down and didn't say anything the entire period.

Next on the schedule...gym.

Gaara knew where this class was as he had passed it upon entering the school. He wasn't looking forward to this hour any more than the others and he had heard from Sakura as she was looking over his schedule that the teacher, Might Gai, was a raving lunatic. Even so he followed the waves of students making their way down the hall until he eventually ended up outside the locker room doors and followed a tall boy with brown hair pulled back in a pony tail inside.

Each boy had a locker assigned to him upon registering for the high school and Gaara pulled out his schedule, reading his locker number in the upper right hand corner of the sheet. 122. He followed the digits until he found his own and pulled it open only to find it was empty. Glancing around he saw that all the other boys were changing into shorts and t-shirts suitable for the class, but he had failed to bring anything with him. Looking back on it now it was kind of common sense to bring gym clothes but he hadn't thought of it that morning. Great, now he would stand out even more.

"Hey, you're the new kid right?" Gaara turned to see the brown haired boy from before talking to him, an inquiring look in his dark eyes. He was the only one still in the locker room as all the other students had filed out already.

"…Yes," Gaara responded shortly.

"Forget gym clothes today? That's alright; you wouldn't know I guess, being from out of town. Here, my mom put an extra set of cloths in my backpack because she thought I had forgotten mine. You can use them, that way Gai Sensei won't bug you," he said, tossing a white shirt and black shorts Gaara's way. The boy caught them instinctively, staring at Shikamaru as though he had just sprouted fangs.

"They're not dirty or anything," the boy remarked with an amused grin, misinterpreting Gaara's look.

"Thanks," the red head muttered, dumping the clothes on the wooden bench beside him and pulling his shirt over his head.

"Name's Shikamaru by the way, you're Gaara right? I heard from some of the other guys," he told him. Gaara grunted in response before the other boy suddenly let out a low whistle.

"Man, that's some scar you've got on your back. What'd you do, get in a fight with a bear or something?" he asked. Gaara froze, his mind going blank as the memory flashed before his eyes.

_Shouting, __**he**__ was shouting again. Someone was screaming at __**him**__ to calm down, he thought it was Temari. There was a loud curse and a powerful backhand made contact with his face, sending him flying backward and crashing into the window. The glass immediately shattered and he slammed through and into the gravel outside, landing on a jagged shard that was protruding from the ground. He felt a stabbing pain, something wet trickling down his back, more screaming, and then darkness…_

"AGH!" he cried, dropping to the ground and clutching his head, the spare shirt falling from his grasp and onto the floor. "Not…again…" he choked. Shikamaru's eyes widened and he reached out towards Gaara, not sure what to do.

"Are you okay? What's going on, what happened?" he asked, leaning down and placing a hand on the other boys shoulder. Gaara jerked, his eyes flashing dangerously at Shikamaru who let go like someone had burned him. "Do you need me to get the nurse?" he asked cautiously.

Slowly Gaara's rapid breathing returned to normal and he straightened up, picking up the shirt from the ground where it had fallen.

"No, I'm fine. I just get headaches sometimes," he lied, avoiding Shikamaru's doubtful gaze.

"Alright, whatever you say," the boy answered. "I'm going to get to class. Try to hurry or Gai Sensei will make you run laps," he said to him. Gaara didn't respond and Shikamaru sighed before turning and heading out the door. There was something…different about the new kid, not bad, just different.

Gaara leaned back against the cool lockers and closed his eyes, the visions flashing through his head like a movie in fast forward.

"No, not again. Go away!" he hissed, clutching his head and sliding down the wall.

"_You little bastard!"_

"_You killed her!"_

"_This…this guy's dead!"_

"_Gaara…what have you done…"_

"_YOU FREAK!"_

"_I've always hated you…"_

Gaara clutched his head, his eyes snapping open as his vision spun in front of him. He needed to calm down; he had to push the memories away now! Desperately he thought of Temari and Kankuro, trying to picture their smiling faces, their kind words, the way they treated him normally, the way they actually cared for him like family…

Slowly his heart rate returned to normal and he was able to straighten up, finally pulling the shirt over his head before changing his loose jeans for the shorts. Taking a final breath he shoved his other clothes in his locker, glancing at the back of the lock and memorizing the combination before stepping out the door and into the gym. God only knew what awaited him in this class…

……………………

**Alright so there's chapter three. Yeah I went on a bit of an updating frenzy. Hope you all enjoyed. There was a hint of Gaara's past there so hopefully that was written alright. I was kinda nervous about that part. Please tell me what you thought!!  
**

**Sevgi**


	4. Dodgeball

A/N: Hey everyone

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for sticking with me thus far. Sorry it took longer to update, some things came up and I have become unexpectedly busy. Well without further ado, here's the next chapter. Thank you!!**

As soon as Gaara stepped into the gym twenty three pairs of eyes immediately turned to him and he instinctively stepped back, wishing he had taken less time in the locker room. If it hadn't been for that damned attack... and that boy had witnessed it, that Shikamaru. Obviously he thought Gaara was some kind of freak. Oh well, he was only one of many.

Soft mutterings broke out amongst the students as they eyed him for the first time, clearly not quite sure what to think of the new kid who had just stumbled in late to class.

"That's the new boy isn't it?"

"What was his name? Gaara?"

"That's kinda a weird name..."

"He's kinda cute."

"What do you mean kinda, he's freaking hot!"

Gaara ignored the comments and stares and went to sit down in the back of the group of students, keeping his eyes lowered and his fists clenched. He had gone about three paces when a loud voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Just a minute young man!" Gaara winced and turned slowly, knowing it was unlikely this newcomer was speaking to anyone but him. A tall man was staring at the boy, his fists planted firmly on his hips, his mutant caterpillar eyebrows furrowed, and a blinding grin on his face. "You must be the new student from Suna I've heard so much about!" Gaara stared at him, not quite sure how to respond to this new teacher's blatant display of energy. The man marched right up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, causing Gaara to flinch and take a step back.

"Welcome to Konoha, kid!" His smile only brightened as he waited for the young man to respond in some way, yet he was sorely disappointed. The red head merely blinked and stepped out of his reach, fixing him with a cold glare and a scowl. The man's smile faltered for a moment before he shook his head and stepped back, folding his arms across his chest. "Well I'm Gai Sensei, you've probably heard about me..." he once again waited for a response and once again he received none. Clearing his throat his smile faded entirely and Gaara hoped this was a sign that he had finally decided to shut up. Unfortunately luck was not on his side as two seconds later Gai's grin was back and larger than ever.

"Well we will work on that un-youthful attitude of yours! Go sit down with the other students and listen to my masterful instructions...uh, what was your name again?" he asked sheepishly.

"Gaara," the young man responded shortly. Gai nodded.

"Of course, Gaara. I knew that, just checking to make sure you could talk after all! Hahaha...right." The red head turned away and sat down about a foot from the rest of the class, looking anywhere but at his crazy sensei's face. Glancing to the left he happened to catch the eye of a boy who was the spitting image of the loud mouthed man before them. He had the same horrendous eyebrows, the same bowl hair cut, and the same cheesy grin that he was now flashing Gaara's way.

As soon as he realized he'd caught Gaara's eye, this new boy waved ecstatically in his direction, his grin growing broader than before. Gaara frowned and dropped his gaze, pretending to be incredibly amused by something on the floor. If this crazy kid wanted him to wave back he was going to be in for a long wait.

"Today's activity is...DODGEBALL!" Gai announced, peering at his students faces and hoping for a good reaction. Fortunately for him he got one as several cheers and cat calls followed this sentence. "Since it is the beginning of the school year and we have not yet started our curriculum, I believe dodge ball is the best route to go. It will test the power of your youth by seeing just how strong, just how fast, just how precise your aim is! Only the ones most determined to win will come out on top in this grueling game! Now please, go to the team I, your sensei, assign for you!"

Gai made his way through the students counting them off as ones and twos. Gaara was a two and headed to the right side of the gym where his teammates waited. He ignored their stares and whispers, preferring instead to stand near the back wall and cross his arms across his chest.

"I hate games like this..." The muttered complaint came from the boy next to him that Gaara immediately recognized as Shikamaru, the kid whose gym clothes he was currently wearing. "This whole thing is going to be such a drag, way to much work if you ask me." he continued, talking to no one in particular. Gaara chose to ignore him, at a loss of what to say anyway.

Gai sensei walked to the middle of the floor and dumped out a bag of rubber balls that the students would use to try and take the opposing team down. Gaara noted that the strange looking kid who had waved at him earlier was on the other team and staring at the red balls eagerly. Gai stepped to the side and out of harms way before blowing the whistle around his neck. Pandemonium ensued as students from both teams ran towards the missiles sitting in the middle of the floor.

Gaara heard Shikamaru yawn and glanced over at him, watching the boy blink his eyes drowsily.

"Maybe I'll get out early on purpose..." he heard him mutter. At that moment a ball whistled past Gaara's ear and smacked against the wall behind him, bouncing on the ground and rolling to a halt at his feet. He stared at it a moment before picking it up and tossing it idly up and down, wondering if he would try hitting someone after all… Then again if he did that he would immediately be marked as a target in the eyes of every single remaining member of the opposing team, already hoping to single him out by the fact that he was new in the area.

"Come on Shikamaru, at least try to do something!" one of their teammates, a girl with long blonde hair complained while dodging a speeding ball as it flew towards her. This in turn left it racing towards Gaara, the only thing between them the red ball he still held in his hands. Almost lazily he dropped it and instead reached out and caught the ball hurtling towards him, catching it as soon as it hit his hand.

"Hah, you're out Inuzuka! The new kid caught your toss!" someone shouted. Gaara glanced up to see the same obnoxious kid that had been in his English class seething as he glared in the red head's direction.

"Yeah whatever, I know," he snapped, sitting down where he stood. Shikamaru let out a low whistle and Gaara glanced his way, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Nice catch," he said with a sly grin. "I wonder if you're a little more into this than you let on." Gaara scowled and tossed the ball down.

"That was a reflex," he muttered. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Friendly aren't you?" he asked sarcastically and Gaara chose not to respond. This Shikamaru would leave him alone soon enough; they all did in the end. And he would be sure to bring his own gym clothes tomorrow. Shikamaru's eyes suddenly widened as his eyes flickered to something Gaara couldn't see.

"Hey watch out!" he exclaimed. Gaara turned in time to see a flash of red flying at his face and ducked out of the way just in time, the ball slamming into the wall with a loud smack. "That thing nearly took you out…" Shikamaru muttered before turning to the culprit. "You trying to kill him Lee?" he called. The boy, Lee, sheepishly shook his head.

"No! I am sorry, I did not mean for that to be so close," he responded. Scowling Gaara turned his cold eyes to the other boy and glared at him, his fingers twitching. Something about this kid… something just annoyed him. From his ridiculous hair cut to his bushy eyebrows, to the obnoxious smile on his face, everything about him made Gaara want to hit something. Why was it that this crazy looking freak, this loser, had friends and Gaara didn't? Why was he able to connect with people in a way that Gaara could never hope to? What was it?

Clenching his fists Gaara leaned down and picked up the red ball at his feet, his fingers digging into it as he glared at the boy now talking to one of his teammates, completely unaware of the danger about to descend on him like a tidal wave. Shikamaru glanced up and saw the death glare in Gaara's eyes, saw the target, and quickly put two and two together.

"Hold on a minute man. Don't do anything you might-…"

"Shut up," Gaara hissed, barely hearing Shikamaru's words. "This guy's dead." With that he drew back and launched the ball forwards, his aim dead on, the missile speeding forward at rocket pace. Lee turned in time to get nailed in the face, the ball hitting flesh with an unpleasant smack. Students gasped as he flew backward, the momentum sending his body sliding across the floor and coming to a halt near the wall. Gaara however, merely looked on in satisfaction.

"Lee!"

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Everyone from his team ran over to him, including those that were out, as well as some from the opposing side. Gaara watched them, his eyes narrowing, his hands clenching and unclenching. Gai hustled forward from his place by the wall, making a path through the students in order to reach the bowl haired boy.

"You really nailed him…" Shikamaru murmured, coming up to stand beside Gaara. He shrugged and was relieved as the bell chose that moment to ring, saving him from this awkward conversation. Hurrying back into the locker Gaara slid the clothes off and left them in a crumpled heap on the bench before donning his own and heading out the door without a backward glance.

Pulling his schedule out he saw that he had an hour for lunch now, a much needed break from his day so far. He hadn't packed any food as neither he, Temari, nor Kankuro had had time to go shopping and he had no money for school food which was bound to be nasty anyway. Even so he had to find himself a part time job soon so he could help his siblings out.

Walking out of the building he looked around for any quiet place where he could spend the hour away from the loud hallways and smell of bleach. He passed flocks of students sitting in the shade of the large oak trees planted in the front, talking and laughing together about the events of the day thus far. Gaara walked past them without a second glance and moved to the side of the school. Here he found the place he was looking for.

A tree secluded from the others was planted a couple feet away from the school, its branches hanging low to the ground and casting shadows that zigzagged across one another on the green grass. But best of all it was completely deserted with no crazy loudmouthed students in sight. Making his way over to it he sat down and rested his back against the tree's smooth trunk, letting his head lean against the bark, not caring whether or not he got twigs in his hair.

He missed Suna's dry air, warm climate, and harsh nature. Konoha was too soft and everything here was way too green. He was happy to get away from the memories and the fear of his father but aside from that things in Suna had been much better than they were here. Sighing he shut his eyes, the breeze feeling good against his face. He knew he wasn't doing the place justice as he had only been here about a day. Even so if he was going to end up adjusting eventually, there was no reason he had to go about doing so willingly.

The young man stayed like that for the remainder of the lunch period, looking asleep to anyone who happened to pass by. Gaara however, was not that fortunate. Sleep avoided him at every turn and for that he was glad. He didn't want nightmares again on top of everything else. Shortly after, the bell sounded the end of the lunch period and Gaara lazily got up, wondering briefly what had happened to that Lee kid before dismissing the thought. Dodge ball was a dangerous game, he had nothing to apologize for, nothing to feel bad about. Lee would have done the same thing to him had he let the ball hit him in the face.

Despite this fact he still couldn't resist peeking into the gym when he walked past only to see that it was deserted. Shrugging he continued on his way. He had math next with a man named Ibiki. Math had always been his strong point though he never flaunted his talents. It was something that required thought and logic, always a definite answer for whatever was thrown at you…unlike real life. Shaking his head of those thoughts he paused to get his bearings before making his way down the hallway he hoped would take him in the right direction.

……..

**Alright there you are. Sorry it took so long to update, with school starting again it's really hard to get anything else done. Thank you for reading, please review!! **

**Sevgi**


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